Fate when they cry: Onihanashi
by liberatedliberater
Summary: Welcome to Fuyuki City. Please enjoy this new tale prepared by Bernkastel-sama, with its new Game Master.  There is nothing too difficult to think about. Please sit back, relax, and enjoy this non-orthodox mystery.  The difficulty is for you to decide.
1. Chapter 0: Prologue

The tree fell in the forest.  
But no one was there to hear it fall.

The tree fell in the forest.  
But no one was there to see it fall.

No one knows why the tree fell.  
Because no one knew that it even fell.

~ Frederica Bernkastel

**?**

It was… an endless expanse. A world… no, an endless space filled with numerous fragments. Each fragment reflected a world inside of it. Several hundreds of thousands of these fragments, reflecting endless possibilities, alternate worlds.

This endless expanse, this sea of Fragments, might have been called "The Origin". It was the void. It was where new worlds begin and old ones end.

For those called "Voyager Witches", each Fragment represented another game to play. Each Fragment was another world created in order to stave off their boredom.

In that endless expanse, a witch was floating. Or perhaps, she was sifting through each and every Fragment. She was one of those Voyager Witches, searching for a Fragment that would satisfy her boredom.

That witch stopped in front of a single Fragment. That Fragment reflected its possibilities to the witch staring into it. …However, to that witch, those possibilities are mere trivialities, for it was she who has sifted through millions of other Fragments. Millions of other possibilities. But for now, maybe this Fragment was enough to satisfy her boredom…

She is, after all, the Witch of Miracles.

That witch turned away from the Fragment for a moment in order to search. Finally, it seems she has found what she was looking for…

"Hey, Lambda. Looks like I've found the next game we can play." That witch spoke with a dull tone, with almost no trace of emotion other than boredom.

"Oh?" Another witch appeared. That other witch called Lambda was wearing an outfit that might have given old people who stared at it diabetes, or an incredible sugar rush to a kid.

"Are you sure it's enough to satisfy you, Bern?"

"Hmph. It probably wouldn't hurt to try out a world like this. We've been stuck on 1986 for around seven Fragments now. We might need a change of pace."

"So are you planning to invite other witches to this?"

"Well… there were a couple of interesting people in this Fragment. I think we can manage with just them."

The witch wearing the overly pink outfit laughed. "Heh. I think I'll call a few other people to this Fragment to keep things interesting…"

The witch called Bern shrugged and entered the Fragment, while the other witch took off to search for other witches.

It would have been called a regular church. It had everything a church would have. An altar, a confession box, several pews, stained glass windows, and relief carvings of events from the Bible.

Except… the church wasn't anywhere in particular. It was in the void. Although it was within the Fragment, it wasn't part of the world of that Fragment. It would be more accurate to say that it was in a higher plane of existence in that Fragment.

And inside that church… was a priest. A priest wearing a long black robe, pacing around that chapel. It seemed that he was the only one inside that chapel. The only one to keep everything clean, the only one possible to oversee the mass… except that there was no one who would go to mass in that chapel, trapped inside that void.

As the priest paced around the chapel, the witch named Bern landed on the altar. Just like a cat, it was silent and unnoticeable.

"…Are you Kotomine Kirei?"

The priest in the long black robe turned. His dull eyes seemed to complement the witch sitting comfortably on the altar.

"…You are not supposed to sit on the tabernacle of the Lord."

The witch named Bern ignored the priest's remarks. The witch stood up on the table, as if she was the authority within that church.

"…I would like for you to participate in a little game of ours."

Kotomine Kirei looked up at the blue-haired witch. "A game?"

"Yes. As one of the Voyager Witches, I seek to relieve my boredom."

"…Voyager Witches? I am a magus and an executioner of the Church, but I have not heard of Voyager Witches."

"But of course. We're the ones who traverse the sea of Fragments. We spend eternity seeking each Fragment of ways to relieve our boredom. It just so happened that I selected this one. Now I'm asking you to join our game."

Kotomine scoffed. "Hmph. And what if I refuse?"

Bernkastel smiled. It was more of a jeering smile than a pleasant one. "I am the Witch of Miracles, Bernkastel. And by that name, I will seek out the worst possible Fragment for you and throw you in its depths. Of course, by participating in our game, I will grant you any miracle you desire. Do you have one…?"

Kotomine stared at the witch, deep in thought. "I will keep that to myself for now. Well then, I think I shall join your game, if only to kill time."

Bernkastel smirked, then clapped once. "Well then. It seems all of the participants are about to arrive soon. I expect much out of you, Kotomine Kirei. Don't bore me…"


	2. Chapter 1: Opening Move

I think… I was watching a dream.

_It's been 21 years since it happened. Why won't you forget it?_

Because… how could you forget that something as horrifying as that ever happened?

_But the fact is that you're here now. The year 1983 has passed a long time ago. The eternally repeating June won't happen anymore._

I… I've lived for more than a hundred years. I've been killed and revived countless of times, and I've remembered every single one of them. Sometimes… I wonder if I've ever really escaped that nightmare.

_You have. You don't have to be the witch anymore._

The witch. The one called Bernkastel. Once, I was trapped in that Fragment. I was a witch.

I _was_ a witch. I watched all of my friends get killed over and over again. I was helpless. I couldn't overcome that dead end of fate.

_Everyone was there to help you. There's nothing to be afraid of anymore._

I'm sorry. I don't know why I've drifted back into that memory.

_I'm sorry, too. But things have changed. You're not the witch anymore. Let all those Fragments disperse. You've already killed the dice._

That's right. The Fragments disperse. Everything will be over… when they cry.

Fuyuki City

January 31, 2004

"Hey Rika, wake up! We're almost here."

Bright light shines on my eyes. I feel a long rumble as I wake up. I start to rub my eyes and look at my surroundings.

Where was I again?

"Rika, get a hold of yourself! We're about to arrive at the station!"

Oh yeah. We're on a train. I look to my side.

A woman past mid-30s is beside me. She starts standing and picks up our stuff from the baggage compartment above us.

"Oi, Rika, hurry up and help me here." The woman beside me is Mion Sonozaki. She's currently the representative of Hinamizawa in Congress. Pretty impressive, huh? The Sonozaki family back in Hinamizawa actually has quite a lot of influence both inside the town and outside it. I've been friends with Mion ever since I was still a kid, so we're pretty close.

Oh, I forgot to mention. I'm Rika Furude, head priestess of the Hinamizawa shrine. Like I said, I've been friends with Mion for as long as I can remember. Right now, we're headed towards Fuyuki City. Mion has some sort of conference to attend here. I get to tag along and see Fuyuki City along the way. There are a lot of benefits to being friends with a politician, after all.

Too bad the others aren't able to come with us.

The train starts to slow down as we approach our destination.

_Fuyuki City. Fuyuki City._

The monotonous voice rings out, announcing the station's name. The two of us alight from the train.

"So, Mion, where is this conference supposed to be anyway?"

Mion shuffles through her bag and takes out a small map of Fuyuki City. "Hm. According to this, it's supposed to be in a hotel in the Shinto district…"

I take a look at the map. It doesn't seem to be too far from the train station.

"Okay, let's head for the Shinto district, then."

Einzbern Forest

_Gasp. Gasp. Gasp._

Someone is gasping for breath. A young girl with long, white hair is approaching a young man with flaming red hair. Beside them… was a gargantuan man holding a strange, axe-like weapon. The giant's eyes lack any sense of rationality. Anyone who stares into those eyes will only feel a strong bloodlust emanating from them.

"Kiritsugu didn't give you much of a fighting chance, huh… How disappointing. You're not even much of a challenge…" As the young lady spoke these words, the giant beside him starts swinging the axe towards the young man on the ground.

* * *

Close by, a young woman heard the explosive sounds emanating from the forest. The battle with a foregone conclusion is still ongoing, and with each blow by the giant, the explosive force rumbles through the forest.

_What the heck is going on there?_ The young woman runs towards the source of the sounds. As she runs, she takes out her phone. She punches in a couple of numbers and puts the phone to her ears.

"Hello? This is Fu-"

_Sorry. The number you are trying to reach is out of service range._

"Shit…" On the next step that the young woman takes, a powerful shock emanates from the ground and hits her.

Before the giant could swing the axe, the young lady commands it to stop.

"Berserker, stop. There's someone who wants to spoil my fun…"

The giant grunts in dissatisfaction. The young man on the ground is beaten badly, and is breathing quite heavily. The young woman walks slowly towards him.

"Sorry, Shirou. I'll play with you later, I promise." The giant called Berserker and the young lady begin to walk outside of the castle.

* * *

_Run._

Each step the woman takes should take her further away from the monster.

_Run._

The loud, thundering footsteps follow closely behind her. She doesn't know if she'll make it.

_Run._

But why doesn't the monster seem any further away from her? She runs and she runs and she nearly stumbles…

Just in front of her was a large castle. She would've stopped to consider and deduce what the castle is doing in the middle of this dense forest, but there's no time for that now…

The thundering footsteps grow louder. The young woman enters the castle. On the floor's lobby, she finds a young man with flaming red hair, battered and badly beaten.

"You! What are you doing here?"

The young man could only mutter helplessly. He was of no use right now. But…

"Tch. Why'd there have to be someone else in here?" She takes the young man and carries him over her shoulders. He was heavy, but manageable. She starts climbing the staircase in front of her.

Behind them, the door crashes open. The giant is there, along with the long-haired girl.

"Hey. Why are you taking my toy with you? I'm not done playing with him yet…" The girl's eyes are staring into the young woman. The young woman is immediately fixated on the spot.

_I… can't move!_

"Berserker… you can kill both of them now."

Just as the girl utters those words, she collapses. The charm binding the young woman to the floor is released. The young woman stares at the collapsed girl. The giant called Berserker lets out a loud, painful roar before collapsing.

The young woman approaches the bodies on the floor. The white-haired girl is glowing, as if she was on fire. Tattoos on her entire body were glowing.

The young woman remains calm. She knew that panicking won't accomplish anything. She runs inside the castle to look for medical supplies.

As the young woman runs inside the castle, she starts sorting out the events that just occurred.

_First of all, I've been attacked by a white-haired girl commanding a giant wielding an axe. Then I ran into this gigantic castle and found a teenaged man with red hair badly beaten up on the floor. Then when the giant entered, just as they tried to kill me, the girl collapsed and started glowing. The giant collapsed as well…_

The young woman sees a large door. She pushes the door open and enters the room. It was a large study, filled with large shelves with huge volumes of text.

_A study? Then… putting together the information I have now, the white-haired girl…_

"No, that can't be right. There's no such thing as magic… is there?"

_That won't work… no, this isn't a mystery!_

"Then… that giant must be some sort of familiar to the girl. And if that's the case… then the girl… is some sort of magician?"

_What the hell…_

The young woman sifts through volumes and volumes of text and finds a memoir. Marked on the cover is the word "Einzbern".

_Simply by the existence of this memoir, all my theories will be confirmed. This level of reasoning is possible for Furudo Erika._

"What do you think…?"

* * *

Kotomine Kirei paces back and forth around the chapel. A thin smile crosses his lips as he is surrounded by the magical circles and inscriptions while creating the game board. He adds a few more lines and inscriptions and finishes up.

The priest walks towards the altar and faces the heavens, as if making an invocation. He opens his mouth to speak. His voice reverberates loud and clear throughout the chapel.

"As the Game Master of this Fragment, I, Kotomine Kirei, announce the beginning of this game. You Witches of the Senate, please make sure that you are watching this. I will spin a tale that will surely entertain all of you. I welcome you all to Fuyuki City."


	3. Chapter 2: Summoning

Day 1: Einzbern Castle  
February 1, 2004

Morning.

The early morning light sifts through the curtains of the Einzbern castle. The sunlight pouring into the castle illuminates the debris scattered from the giant's rampage on the previous day.

In one of the bedrooms of the castle, a bed has been prepared for the white-haired girl who collapsed. Sitting beside her was the red-haired boy and the blue-haired woman named Erika Furudo. Erika was sitting cross-legged, reading the memoir that she found in the library.

The red-haired boy looks at the woman. "Um… can I ask you a question? Who are you?"

Erika turns away from the book and looks at the boy. "Erika Furudo, detective," she says while flashing a badge from her pocket. "And you, kid. Who are you and why would you be in a castle like this?"

"My name is Shirou Emiya. Well… I don't really know why I'm here in the first place. First thing I knew was that this girl shows up with that giant and hit me unconscious. Next thing I knew, I was here with that monster. Nnggh-" The boy stops his sentence short with a grunt of pain. He examines his body, which was covered in bruises. Other than the bruises, he didn't seem to be that badly injured.

Erika looks at Shirou suspiciously. _Something's not right._

"Why aren't you dead yet?"

"Huh?"

"After being hit by that… thing, you should be dead by now. Why aren't you?"

Shirou Emiya examines his body and looks Erika in the eye. "Honestly, I don't know either."

Ryudou Temple  
The night before

Rika Furude decides to travel Fuyuki City while Mion is out on her meeting with the Fuyuki City representative. She spent the entire day touring the entire city, ending up on such places as the church on the hill and the reportedly haunted mansion of the Tohsakas. As the final destination of her city tour, she ends up in the sacred Ryudou temple.

She is, after all, a priestess.

Rika enters the temple premises and is immediately greeted by a couple of monks. One of them seemed to be a high school student sporting blue hair and a pair of glasses, and the other one was a taller man with thinner, but similarly blue hair.

The one wearing glasses spoke up. "Welcome to the Ryudou Temple. Is there anything you need from us?"

"Ah… no, not really. I am just touring Fuyuki City, you see…"

"Hm. So we have a visitor from outside Fuyuki. Well then, welcome to Fuyuki City."

"Thank you… so, um… I will head on now."

The two monks head out of the shrine premises (was that high school kid a monk?). Rika, meanwhile, continues to climb the staircase.

There was a thick air of silence hanging about in the air. A breeze rolls in and rattles the trees around Rika.

_What a strange atmosphere…_

_

* * *

_

_Gasp. Gasp. Gasp._

Blood. A brilliant, crimson liquid strewn about on the wooden floorboards. In the darkness, a person stepping inside the room might have not noticed the corpse lying on the floor. But there was a light bright enough to reflect on the crimson liquid flowing on the floor.

Above the corpse was a hooded figure. A female holding a strangely shaped, multicoloured dagger. Some blood was dripping from its tip. One look at the scene will have a person immediately assume that the hooded figure was the killer.

_A few days too late. I'm doomed to die… without having my wish granted._

Beside the hooded figure was a tome. The tome was opened to a page filled with figures and sixteen-line writing. Part of it was also stained with blood. It must have been used by the corpse before it died.

"I'm… free…"

The hooded figure managed to choke out a strangled sound. It might have come out as laughter if it wasn't choked by the blood that began to pour out of her mouth.

Footsteps. The hooded figure plopped on her knees to the floor, severely weakened by wounds on her body.

On the doorway was a tall figure with long, blue hair. Their eyes met. The blue-haired figure approached the hooded person slowly.

"Save… me…" were the choked words that came out of the hooded figure's mouth.

A few moments of silence, save for the gargling of blood from the hooded figure. Then the other woman spoke.

"How will I save you?"

The hooded figure weakly pointed towards the open tome next to the corpse. The blue-haired woman nodded.

"Who are you?"

The hooded figure's eyes were close to lifeless. She managed to speak before the life in her eyes permanently left.

"Me… de… a…"

* * *

Writing a novel is really difficult work. Like a witch creating an illusion from scratch, a proper novelist has to weave up the plot, construct the characters, and meld all the elements together to create a believable world that can be read by others.

That's why Ange Ushiromiya is travelling the whole of Japan – to find the elements that will allow her to create her next novel.

Tonight, the red-haired novelist is in front of the sacred Ryudou Temple, collecting research materials for her next novel. Six years back, she helped Toya Hachijo publish her eight forgeries to create "Umineko no Naku Koro ni", which re-launched the mystery genre into Japanese pop culture. As a result, Ange had the resolve to write mystery novels on par with Toya Hachijo's creations.

Ange starts walking towards the gate of the shrine. On her right hand was the novel she was reading… S. S. Van Dine's first novel, _The Benson Murder Case_. Once she crosses into the lengthy staircase, she stops.

_There's something strange about the air around,_ thought Ange. _Something… ominous._

Once Ange reached the top of the staircase, the wind around the temple began to pick up speed. The temple was close to empty.

"Hello? Is there anyone here?" Ange shouts as she walks.

No answer. The powerful wind to concentrate on one location.

Then… a brilliant flash of red. Ange began rushing towards the flash of light.

* * *

Rika Furude finished drawing a large, circular rune on the ground using the blood of the corpse. On her left hand was the tome, still opened to the page stained with blood.

The hooded figure named Medea had vanished. She left no corpse behind… no other traces of her existence other than Rika's actions of creating the magic circle, and the corpse at the corner of the room.

"Can I save her…?" Rika ponders aloud while overseeing the magic circle. Slowly, she makes her way towards the centre of the circle.

Outside, the breeze begins to pick up. Rika begins the ritual.

_Ye first, O silver, O iron_

_O stone of the foundation, O Archduke of the Contract_

_Hear me in the name of our great teacher, the Archmagus Schweinorg_

_Let the descending winds be as a wall_

_Let the gates in all directions be shut, rising above the crown, and let the three-forked roads to the kingdom revolve._

_Shut. Shut. Shut. Shut. Shut._

_Five perfections for each repetition._

_And now, let the filled sigils be annihilated in my stead!_

_Set._

_Let thy body rest under my dominion; let my fate rest in thy blade._

_If thou submittest to the call of the Holy Grail and if thou wilt obey this mind, this reason, then thou shalt respond._

_I make my oath here._

_I am that person who is to become the virtue of all Heavens._

_I am that person who is covered with the evil of all Hades._

_Thou seven heavens, clad in a trinity of words_

_Come past thy restraining rings, and be thou the hands that protect the balance!_

A brilliant red glow fills the room. The light grows more and more powerful until Rika is forced to crouch and shut her eyes.

Another figure enters the room. A tall, red-haired figure holding a thin book in her right hand.

"What's going – "

The winds around grow in power. A second flash of light occurs as Ange Ushiromiya unwittingly steps inside the magic circle. Ange is forced to crouch against the powerful winds filling the room.

When the light and the winds died down, the wooden floorboards, the corpse, and the walls of the room are visibly damaged. Inside the red circle, there are now four figures.

The first was Rika Furude, sitting up in the centre of the magic circle, looking up at another tall, purple-haired woman wearing a miko's outfit. A peculiar thing about the woman was the horns sticking out of her head.

"Hanyuu…!"

Ange stood up from her crouching position and looked around the room. She spotted the two women close to the centre of the circle. Ange was about to approached them when she spotted the man standing next to her.

The man was wearing a blue overcoat, standing dignified as if overseeing the entire room. He sported blue hair with a small streak of purple in front.

"You…"

Hanyuu and the man in the blue overcoat faced Rika and Ange, respectively. And in unison, they spoke.

"I ask of you. Are you my master?"


	4. TIPS: About Fuyuki City

You have obtained new TIPS.

* * *

TIPS

**Fuyuki City**

This city is famous among magi for the location of Heaven's Feel, more commonly known as the Holy Grail War. There have been four known iterations of Heaven's Feel, with one more about to occur.

Fuyuki City is divided into two districts: Shinto and Miyama, Shinto being the new district and Miyama being the old. A river divides the two districts in half.

Shinto is the business district of Fuyuki City, being the location of many tall buildings, as well as a harbour, several shops, the Central Library and Central Park, the train station, and the Kotomine Church, known to some as the church on the hill.

Miyama is the residential district, divided into two sections: the foreigners' district and the traditional district. It also contains a shopping district.

There is a mountain containing the Ryudou temple, and a forest at the outskirts of Shinto containing the Einzbern Castle.

**Ryudou Temple**

The spiritual ground of Fuyuki City. Several monks reside here, also possibly several magi who wish to obtain the Holy Grail.

It is destined on the fifth iteration of the Holy Grail War to be the summoning location of the Holy Grail.

**Kotomine Church**

A church located in the Shinto district of Fuyuki, situated on top of a hill. The Kotomine family have been head priests of this church. This location also acts as sanctuary for the losers of the Grail War, since this is a neutral area designated by the Church. The Kotomine priests also act as overseers for the Grail War.

**About the Grail War**

The Holy Grail War is dubbed as "Heaven's Feel", and is a seven-way ritual designed to bring forth the Holy Grail to the material plane. Seven magi are designated by the Holy Grail to participate. The seven magi must then summon seven Servants, which will fight until only one Servant-Master pair remains. The Master is declared the winner of the Grail War, and has the privilege of being granted one wish by the Holy Grail.


End file.
